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1957–58 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

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Huddersfield Town
1957–58 season
ChairmanEngland J. Bernard Newman
ManagerScotland Bill Shankly
Football League Second Division9th
FA CupThird round
(knocked out by Charlton Athletic)
Top goalscorerLeague: Les Massie (12)
All: Les Massie (13)
Highest home attendance21,662 vs Barnsley (9 November 1957)
Lowest home attendance5,971 vs Bristol City (19 February 1958)
Biggest win3–0 vs Doncaster Rovers (31 August 1957)
3–0 vs Ipswich Town (12 October 1957)
3–0 vs Notts County (18 January 1958)
Biggest defeat0–5 vs Barnsley (21 August 1957)

Huddersfield Town's 1957–58 campaign was a fairly mediocre season for the Town under Bill Shankly, taking charge for his first full season at Leeds Road. The season will be best remembered for the match against Charlton Athletic at The Valley on 21 December 1957. The match finished 7-6 to Charlton, after Charlton had only ten men for the majority of the match and the fact that with 27 minutes remaining, Town were leading 5–1 before losing the match. This remains the only match in professional football where a team has scored 6 goals and went on to lose the match.

Squad at the start of the season

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
-- GK England ENG Harry Fearnley
-- GK South Africa RSA Sandy Kennon
-- DF England ENG John Battye
-- DF England ENG Ron Cockerill
-- DF England ENG John Coddington
-- DF England ENG Jack Connor
-- DF England ENG Tony Conwell
-- DF England ENG Brian Gibson
-- DF England ENG Bill McGarry
-- DF England ENG Ken Taylor
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- DF England ENG Ray Wilson
-- MF England ENG Bob Ledger
-- MF England ENG Kevin McHale
-- MF England ENG Vic Metcalfe
-- FW Scotland SCO Alex Bain
-- FW England ENG Stan Hepton
-- FW England ENG Stan Howard
-- FW Scotland SCO Denis Law
-- FW Scotland SCO Les Massie
-- FW England ENG Ron Simpson

Review

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In Bill Shankly's first full season in charge, the team experienced a mixture of results, ultimately finishing the season in 9th place with 44 points, 12 points behind 2nd placed Blackburn Rovers. The season also saw Vic Metcalfe make his last appearance in a Town shirt in March against Sheffield United.

A significant highlight of the season was the match against Charlton Athletic at The Valley on 21 December 1957. Despite playing with only ten men for the majority of the match, Charlton claimed a 7-6 victory. Notably, with only 27 minutes remaining, Town were leading 5–1 before they went on to lose the match. This remains the only match in professional football, where a team has scored 6 goals and still lost. Incredibly, Town and Charlton played each other 4 times that season, and 24 goals were scored in those matches.

Squad at the end of the season

[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
-- GK England ENG Harry Fearnley
-- GK South Africa RSA Sandy Kennon
-- DF England ENG John Battye
-- DF England ENG Ron Cockerill
-- DF England ENG John Coddington
-- DF England ENG Jack Connor
-- DF England ENG Tony Conwell
-- DF England ENG Brian Gibson
-- DF Scotland SCO Gordon Low
-- DF England ENG Bill McGarry
-- DF England ENG Ken Taylor
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- DF England ENG Ray Wilson
-- MF England ENG Bob Ledger
-- MF England ENG Kevin McHale
-- MF England ENG Vic Metcalfe
-- FW Scotland SCO Alex Bain
-- FW England ENG Tony France
-- FW England ENG Stan Hepton
-- FW England ENG Stan Howard
-- FW Scotland SCO Denis Law
-- FW Scotland SCO Les Massie
-- FW England ENG Ron Simpson

Results

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Date Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance Position
24 August 1957 Charlton Athletic H 3–3 Bain, Simpson, Taylor 16,921 11th
28 August 1957 Liverpool A 1–1 Massie 41,447 11th
31 August 1957 Doncaster Rovers A 3–0 Massie (2), Simpson 14,631 7th
4 September 1957 Liverpool H 2–1 Howard (2) 16,614 4th
7 September 1957 Rotherham United H 1–3 Bain 20,414 9th
11 September 1957 Cardiff City A 0–1 10,073 12th
14 September 1957 Notts County A 1–1 Bain 15,584 12th
18 September 1957 Cardiff City H 1–1 Baker (og) 9,821 11th
21 September 1957 Grimsby Town A 1–4 Hepton 14,380 14th
28 September 1957 Stoke City H 1–0 Connor 12,467 11th
5 October 1957 Bristol City A 3–1 Wilson, Massie, Bain 21,341 10th
12 October 1957 Ipswich Town H 3–0 Deacon (og), McHale, Bain 15,276 8th
19 October 1957 Blackburn Rovers A 1–1 Massie 20,606 7th
26 October 1957 Sheffield United H 1–1 Cockerill 17,149 7th
2 November 1957 West Ham United A 2–5 Connor, Cockerill 21,525 10th
9 November 1957 Barnsley H 0–5 21,662 11th
16 November 1957 Fulham A 1–2 Bain 18,243 12th
23 November 1957 Swansea Town H 2–2 Simpson, McGarry 12,860 13th
30 November 1957 Derby County A 4–2 Law (2, 1 pen), Massie, Simpson 20,566 12th
7 December 1957 Bristol Rovers H 0–0 11,028 12th
14 December 1957 Lincoln City A 1–1 Law 8,473 11th
21 December 1957 Charlton Athletic A 6–7 Massie, Bain (2), McGarry (pen), Ledger, Howard 12,535 13th
25 December 1957 Middlesbrough H 1–0 Massie 16,281 11th
26 December 1957 Middlesbrough A 1–0 Ledger 22,964 10th
28 December 1957 Doncaster Rovers H 2–2 Ledger, Howard 16,682 11th
11 January 1958 Rotherham United A 1–1 Connor 8,833 12th
18 January 1958 Notts County H 3–0 Simpson, France, McGarry 9,173 10th
1 February 1958 Grimsby Town H 1–0 Simpson 14,333 8th
8 February 1958 Stoke City A 1–1 Simpson 16,489 9th
19 February 1958 Bristol City H 0–0 5,971 8th
22 February 1958 Swansea Town A 1–1 Law 13,400 7th
5 March 1958 Blackburn Rovers H 2–1 McGarry, Massie 6,431 5th
8 March 1958 Sheffield United A 2–3 Law, McGarry (pen) 19,834 8th
15 March 1958 West Ham United H 3–1 Ledger (2), Simpson 19,093 7th
22 March 1958 Barnsley A 3–2 Massie, McHale, Simpson 16,549 7th
29 March 1958 Fulham H 0–3 19,215 8th
4 April 1958 Leyton Orient A 1–3 Massie 16,840 8th
5 April 1958 Ipswich Town A 0–4 15,712 10th
8 April 1958 Leyton Orient H 2–0 Massie, McGarry 14,886 9th
12 April 1958 Derby County H 0–0 12,441 9th
19 April 1958 Bristol Rovers A 1–1 Low 16,185 7th
26 April 1958 Lincoln City H 0–1 8,464 9th
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
4 January 1958 Round 3 Charlton Athletic H 2–2 Law, Massie 20,223
8 January 1958 Round 3 Replay Charlton Athletic A 0–1 26,637

Appearances and goals

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Name Nation Position League Apps League Goals FA Cup Apps FA Cup Goals Total Apps Total Goals
Alex Bain  Scotland FW 19 8 1 0 20 8
John Battye  England DF 1 0 0 0 1 0
Ron Cockerill  England DF 19 1 0 0 19 1
John Coddington  England DF 3 0 0 0 3 0
Jack Connor  England DF 31 3 2 0 33 3
Tony Conwell  England DF 31 1 0 0 31 1
Harry Fearnley  England GK 3 0 0 0 3 0
Tony France  England FW 4 1 0 0 4 1
Brian Gibson  England DF 19 0 2 0 21 0
Stan Hepton  England MF 5 1 0 0 5 1
Stan Howard  England MF 13 4 1 0 14 4
Sandy Kennon  South Africa GK 39 0 2 0 41 0
Denis Law  Scotland MF 18 5 2 1 20 6
Bob Ledger  England MF 21 5 1 0 22 5
Gordon Low  Scotland DF 5 1 0 0 5 1
Les Massie  Scotland FW 39 12 2 1 41 13
Bill McGarry  England DF 34 6 2 0 36 6
Kevin McHale  England MF 23 2 1 0 24 2
Vic Metcalfe  England MF 23 0 0 0 23 0
Ron Simpson  England FW 41 9 2 0 43 9
Ken Taylor  England DF 40 1 2 0 42 1
Ray Wilson  England DF 31 1 2 0 33 1